My Dad used to say things happen for a reason. He would usually say that after some catastrophic event (my Uncle Mark once drove over my Tonka Volkswagenwith a real Volkswagen) but Dad held it to be true no matter which way the wind blew. We may have a case of things happening for a reason, right here, right now—or it could be a giant waste of time. That said, dreaming is free.

SCHADENFREUDE, YEAR OVER YEAR

Oilers in October 2015: 4-8-0, goal differential -7

Oilers in October 2016: 7-2-0, goal differential +10

Oilers in November 2015: 4-7-2, goal differential -6

Oilers in November 2016: 5-8-2 goal differential -3

Oilers in December 2015: 7-6-1, goal differential -9

Oilers in December 2016: 7-2-5, goal differential +3

Oilers in January 2016: 4-5-2, goal differential -5

Oilers in January 2017: 5-3-0, goal differential -1

Oilers after 46, 2015-16: 18-23-5, goal differential -27

Oilers after 46, 2016-17: 24-15-7, goal differential +9

G47 one year ago was a win, Edmonton over Florida 4-2. Taylor Hall was the big star, and Edmonton—at that point in the season—looked like a club that might be able to push toward something resembling .500.

MONEY QUOTE

Bob McKenzie quote: “We do know this, the Oilers and Shattenkirk talked last summer. The word was at the time he didn’t look favorably at Edmonton. But because how things have changed there, and because the Blues maybe aren’t as good, maybe he looks at things differently.”Source

This is a fascinating quote, with real nuance. If you write a hockey rumors site, notice the specificity of the verbal. Things have changed to the point where there may be a window of opportunity. It may also benefit Edmonton, because if St. Louis pulls the chute, the price tag now could be far less than in summer. It probably costs a young defenseman and a conditional pick (second rounder if they don’t sign, first round if they do). The question then surrounds the quality of the young player, and Brandon Davidson would be my guess (you may feel that is a terrible idea).

FORWARDS, 2016-17

Connor McDavid is posting a grand season, just so enjoyable to watch. One of my favorite things about watching teams emerge is finding out who gets to play wing with the superstar. The Philadelphia Flyers won a Stanley Cup before finally landing Reggie Leach for the Bobby Clarke line. They played together with the Flin Flon Bombers and when Leach arrived they won it all again—with the Riverton Rilfe’s goal total rising from 22 to 45 to 61 in what was a harbinger of the roaring 80s.

I don’t know for sure, but Leon Draisaitl may end up as a RW forever. You know, chemistry is the damndest thing, once you find it there is a very good chance you will come back to it. I know you hate the idea, but the depth chart next season may look something like this on the top two lines: Maroon—McDavid—Draisaitl; Lucic—Nuge—Puljujarvi. A new center, preferably righty, moves in for the 3C job. Thoughts? Don’t tell me you all love it at once.

DEFENSE, 2016-17

Todd McLellan about Andrej Sekera: “He blocked a shot but he should be fine for tomorrow. We’re counting on him.”

Sounds about right. If the Oilers are going to acquire Kevin Shattenkirk, and I do believe this story has legs, then surely there is at least a chance the Blues’ defender signs for a season or two in Edmonton. Here is my ideal set of blue should this happen:

Sekera—Shattenkirk

Klefbom—Larsson

Nurse—Benning

I know the third pairing is young, but the duo has played over 115 minutes together with a 54 percent possession number. This assumes Davidson is part of the package, and of course it would make sense to sign Shattenkirk after the expansion draft. Dealing Davidson, and I am still uncertain it is wise (good young player), would make the expansion list far easier:

Note: I would protect Benoit Pouliot, but suspect Edmonton will not, perhaps Jujhar Khaira or Tyler Pitlick wins that spot.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

A wonderful dream. St. Louis is extremely likely to keep Kevin Shattenkirk for its own playoff drive, but if Brandon Davidson and a conditional pick could get it done, would you do it? If the conditional pick was a first rounder, and it was 2018, conditional on Shattenkirk signing, would you do? And further, if that deal fell through, would you send a similar package to Arizona for Martin Hanzal?

Central Scouting does a lot of things I don’t understand (four lists, they get stubborn on falling players and it ends up hurting these kids because they fall like anvils from the sky on draft day), but this mid-season list is important. We get to see the entire scope of the draft. Some quick notes on this year’s list:

RD Cale Makar is No. 10 NA. I had hoped he would be ranked lower, suspect he may be gone by the time Edmonton drafts.

RC Robert Thomas is No. 28 NA. He is a really good prospect, Edmonton might be wise to trade into the 31-40 range and grab him.

RD Will Warm of the Edmonton Oil Kings is No. 154 NA, while teammate LD Brayden Gorda is No. 210. That is a surprise to me, but Warm has had a good season.

G Michael DiPietro is the No. 7 NA goalie. That is insane.

LC Elias Pettersen is No. 2 EURO skater. He numbers in the Allsvenskan are damned bloody interesting, and he might be a more substantial player than most of us are guessing. His rank is higher than I would have thought, perhaps suggesting the scouts have seen a spike in performance.

RD Timothy Liljegren is ranked No. 7 EURO, in a shocker. I wonder why he is ranked so low, most lists have him much higher overall. His offense is pretty good for 10 minutes a night in a man’s league, will be interested to see where he lands on the final list.

I will have a new list out for the 2017 draft at the end of the month, my latest look is here.

LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE

Wednesdays are always fun for me, I get to talk to my friend Bruce McCurdy. Today, it is extra special. Scheduled to appear, beginning at 10 this morning, TSN1260.

Bruce McCurdy, Cult of Hockey. We get to discuss an Oilers win! Plus preview tonight’s game and talk about the Shattenkirk rumors.

Steve Kournianos, The Draft Analyst. We will chat about the new CBS list, and players who have spiked since the beginning of the year.

Warren Cromartie, Montreal Expos. The man, the myth, the legend. On the occasion of what may be Tim Raines Hall of Fame induction day, we talk to a former teammate. We will also chat Expos return in my lifetime.

10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!

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Haven’t been able to watch a game in awhile (a lot of stuff happening; father passed away right and the end of 2016 — what a year for deaths, eh?, and work has been crazy with offers with the Trump presidency barrelling towards us all like the executioner’s bullet).. finally get some time to sit down and watch a game; see we’re up 2-0 and… wham, 2-1 within 20 seconds of turning it on.

I had Dr. Timothy Leary over for dinner once. If it was’t for the adjacent guests propping him at the table, he would have been face down in the veal. No need for the side vegetable. He was completely incoherent.

I had Dr. Timothy Leary over for dinner once. If it was’t for the adjacent guests propping him at the table, he would have been face down in the veal. No need for the side vegetable. He was completely incoherent.

Edmonton has looked awful since they scored their second goal. Can’t make two consecutive passes, really dumb decisions. If Florida comes into this game well rested they’re probably winning by now. This looks like the type of game Edmonton loses in the last 5 minutes of regulation.

Back in the 80s when I was in junior and senior high out in Sherwood Park, my friend had a green space beside his house on Garland Crescent. We used to play hockey in the summer there on the grass with a tennis ball. Made for great hand eye co ordinations, but in hindsite, not ideal hockey.

Looks like the ice makers at Rogers must have been the Sherwood Park hamlet groundskeepers back in the day.

Poo with a dumb play at the blue line on an easy clear, then a dumb penalty in the other end when he’s tired and not even expected to get to it……dumb , dumb, dumb, and then the 4 blind mice strike again….Jesus

It was the right call. Pouliot held the guy’s stick for a clear advantage. It was actually a very good call. Pouliot with a shitty offensive zone penalty just hurt his team. Not his year; he isn’t producing enough to cover for his deficiencies.

It was the right call. Pouliot held the guy’s stick for a clear advantage. It was actually a very good call. Pouliot with a shitty offensive zone penalty just hurt his team. Not his year; he isn’t producing enough to cover for his deficiencies.

It almost seems as if the Oilers spent the day discussing Shattenkirk and the playoffs instead of figuring out how to beat a team that is playing their backup and missing 2 of its top 3 centres.
Hopefully the 3rd is better.

Still, not sure it was the wrong call there, either. Puck hit a Panther on the bench, sure, but didn’t the puck come from the Oiler zone? Seems a fair toss-up as to where that should go. Either way, the pk wasn’t great on the goal against.

Klima’s_Bucket:
It almost seems as if the Oilers spent the day discussing Shattenkirk and the playoffs instead of figuring out how to beat a team that is playing their backup and missing 2 of its top 3 centres.
Hopefully the 3rd is better.

Well, we can blame the refs and the glass, but I suggest Edmonton does not deserve to win this game. Past Talbot and 97, plus a couple of others, this has been a mess. 29-37 Florida in the Corsis after two, 26-19 Florida in the shots, and 2-2 on the scoreboard. Another period like that? 5-2 final.

Still, not sure it was the wrong call there, either. Puck hit a Panther on the bench, sure, but didn’t the puck come from the Oiler zone? Seems a fair toss-up as to where that should go. Either way, the pk wasn’t great on the goal against.

Actually, it showed on the replay that it was just off the glass and out of the zone.. didn’t even come close to his glove…

The fact they went for it in ’06 certainly a factor in their demise. Youdon’t think Lucic and Lewis might have helped later?

Now there were certainly a ton of other problems. including a dysfunctional ownership group, the rebuild, Pendergast, Yak, etc.

And anyone can win, but list of teams loaded with young players, and that have little playoff experience is pretty short. Many of the Oilers key players have less than 200 games played.Young teams usually have to “learn” in their first year.

You bet on percentages. And the Oilers with Shattenkirk are only a marginally better bet to win the Cup, than they are without him – which is to say massive underdogs.

Its funny because I felt that McDavid was gassed and floating too much on that shift until he broke out like a demon.

After the game, when all the kittens were crying, McDavid went over to talk to the refs. At first I thought he was being polite but then you could see him talking to Trocheck and he looked like he had some choice words for him, as he sarcastically waved them good bye. I think he didn’t like that they were hanging around on the ice while his teammates were celebrating their hard earned win. Love this guy!

Over the seven seasons from 1981 to 1987, Raines led the National League in singles, doubles, triples and walks. In other words, he was so good at reaching base, he led his league in pretty much every way it’s possible to “reach base.”

And what seals it for many voters is the list of slam-dunk Hall of Famers who got on base fewer times than Raines did: Lou Brock, Roberto Clemente, Roberto Alomar, Ernie Banks, Mike Schmidt and Tony Gwynn. Just to name a half-dozen.

If you noticed the name of Gwynn on that list, so did lots of voters. They made a point of mentioning it to us. Raines and Gwynn played in the same generation and had careers of nearly the same length. But even though Gwynn got 536 more hits and beat Raines in batting average by 44 points, Raines’ ability to draw walks made their OBPs almost identical (.388 for Gwynn, .385 for Raines) — and Raines’ baserunning brilliance enabled him to reach scoring position so often, he scored almost 200 more runs than Gwynn.

So Raines’ election is the best example yet of how differently all players are looked at now. Gwynn was a first-ballot lock. Raines had to sweat it out for 10 years to get elected. But he was rescued by an evolution in thinking — an evolution that said: The value of these two great players was a lot closer than Gwynn’s “magic numbers” once made us believe.